1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to hosiery constructions and methods of manufacture. More particularly, the invention pertains to a sheer, circular knit hosiery product having both a reinforced toe portion and an appearance, as worn, of substantial uniform color and sheerness in the leg, foot and toe portions together with a method for producing such product.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been known to provide a circular, tubular knit, nude-type, sheer, nylon hosiery with a non-reinforced toe and with an essentially equivalent greige fabric dye receptivity in all portions of the hosiery. In this type of sheer hosiery, the respective leg, foot and toe portions are all typically knit of textured nylon of substantially the same weight and dye receptivity. A micro or plain Jersey stitch construction, or in a combination of the same, is typically employed with a textured yarn and an overall nude and sheer appearance of substantially uniform color in all portions of the hosiery, when worn, is obtained except for the welt which is conventionally darker. However, while the desired nude or other substantially uniform color and sheer appearance is obtained in the sheer hosiery, as worn, the reinforcement properties, i.e., the tear strength and abrasion resistant characteristics in the toe portion, are less than satisfactory.
Textured nylon yarn as referred to in the description is intended to include any textured continuous filament nylon yarn suited for hosiery, whether producer or trade textured, and having permanent loops, crimps, coils, crinkles, or the like, introduced by bulking, stuffing, knit-deknit, false twist, stretch, modified stretch, or the like. Non-textured nylon yarn as referred to in the description is intended to refer to any non-textured or at least substantially non-textured continuous filament nylon yarn suited for hosiery.
Normally, in order to achieve a substantially uniform nude appearance in such sheer hosiery as described above, the toe portion cannot be reinforced by using a heavier or additional yarn in its construction, since such reinforcement would result in the toe portion having a different appearance, when worn, from the appearance of the leg and foot portions of the hosiery, whether textured or non-textured nylon is used.
It has also been known to have reinforced toe and heel portions with a non-nude appearance, that is, where the toe and heel portions present a distinct contrast in gradation of color as compared to the sheer leg and foot portions of the hosiery, when worn. However, in this second example of prior art history, the toe portion and heel portion are reinforced typically by addition of an extra yarn or substitution of a heavier yarn which causes the hosiery, after dyeing and as worn, to display a darker shade in the toe and heel portions than is displayed in the leg and foot portions. Thus, in this second example, reinforcement of the heel and toe is obtained but the hosiery lacks the overall and desirable characteristic of uniform color in the leg, foot and toe portions.
In a third example of the prior art history, the toe is non-reinforced and nude appearing and compares to the non-reinforced toe of the first example while the heel is reinforced and of contrasting appearance as with the heel of the second example. In a fourth example, the sheer hosiery has had a non-reinforced, nude heel and a reinforced, non-nude toe which compares to the non-reinforced heel of the first example and the reinforced toe of the second example.
Thus, as to the four described prior art examples, it can be seen that while a nude or substantially uniform color appearance has been achieved as well as reinforced toe and heel constructions, the prior art has not provided a sheer hosiery product formed of synthetic yarn having leg and foot portions of textured yarn and a toe portion of non-textured yarn and of an overall sheer and nude or substantially uniform color appearance as worn and in which the toe portion is satisfactorily reinforced, i.e., by having commercially satisfactory tear strength and abrasion resistant characteristics.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,444,786 has taught the method of producing hosiery of variegated colors by using certain filament and fibrous yarns, a moistening treatment during knitting and a dye treatment having a different coloring action on the different threads. U.S. Pat. No. 1,728,546 teaches a hosiery construction and method which is also aimed at providing a variation in color in different portions of a hosiery product by using yarns having a different dye affinity. U.S. Pat. No. 2,798,281 is directed to an all-nylon hosiery product and method for obtaining a two-tone effect by using different types of nylon in various portions of the hosiery. U.S. Pat. No. 2,913,801 is directed to manufacture of hosiery with two types of polyamide threads of different dye affinity and dyed in one operation to produce a multi-color effect. U.S. Pat. No. 3,356,444 is directed to a dyed nylon fabric having two types of yarns of different cross-sectional shape and of different delustrant content. U.S. Pat. No. 3,417,174 is directed to a process for making dyed women's hose utilizing different types of copolyamide in the welt and leg portions and in which matched color in such portions is claimed to be achieved.
It has also been known that heat treating of sheer knitted hosiery fabric in the greige will affect dye affinity and will, therefore, affect the color obtained during dyeing of the product and, thus, will affect the appearance of the hosiery product, when worn. It has also been recognized that yarns can be given textured effects by employment of heat in a regulated heat-time cycle and that texturing of a yarn may affect dye affinity. In some texturing processes, strands of yarn in one textured state are fed through one or more heating zones to achieve another textured state. Both overfeeding and underfeeding of yarn strands is known to produce different textured effects. It is also known to achieve textured effects by autoclaving packaged yarn.
The reinforced toe construction, with commercially satisfactory tear strength and abrasion resistant properties, and nude appearance are both desirable characteristics for sheer hosiery. This is particularly true for the current popular type of sheer nylon hosiery in which micro or plain Jersey stitch constructions, or combinations of the same, are employed in the leg and foot portions. Yet, so far as is known and prior to the present invention, both characteristics have not been obtained simultaneously in a commercially satisfactory sheer hosiery product embodying textured nylon yarn in the leg and foot portions and non-textured, strand heat cured nylon yarn in the toe portion so as to obtain both an overall substantial uniformity in fabric dye receptivity as well as commercially satisfactory tear strength and abrasion resistant reinforcement properties in the toe. More specifically, what has been not been previously recognized is that both characteristics can be obtained in sheer, nylon hosiery by an appropriate selection of textured and non-textured yarns, heat curing of the non-textured yarn in strand form, knit constructions and dye treatment so as to produce, when worn, a substantially uniform color and sheer, e.g., nude, appearance in the leg and foot portions as well as in the toe portion of a sheer hosiery product having a reinforced toe.
Thus, the object of the present invention is that of producing a circular, tubular knit, sheer, nylon yarn hosiery product having both a reinforced toe portion and a substantial uniformity in color and sheerness, such as an overall substantially uniform nude, sheer appearance, when worn, in the leg, foot and toe portions.